Russellville head volleyball coach Cindy Jones rallies with the Lady Cyclones prior to a match held on Monday inside Tucker Coliseum as part of the Arkansas Tech University volleyball team camp. (THE COURIER / Travis Simpson)

The second annual Arkansas Tech University (ATU) volleyball team camp is underway inside Tucker Coliseum. The event has attracted 12 varsity and eight junior varsity teams from across the state to ATU for a chance to hone their skills against a variety of different opponents of different skill levels.

Golden Suns head coach Kristy Bayer began the event last year because she saw a need for something affordable and centrally located for nearby volleyball programs to participate in.

“We had to turn teams away,” she said.

The Lady Cyclones made their first appearance at the camp on Monday. Russellville head coach Cindy Jones said they decided to attend the team camp due to cost and because it was nearby.

“We used to always go to a camp in Fayetteville and we thought, why not come here because of the price and because it was close. For the cost of our old camp we can do this and two others,” she said.

Russellville’s next camp will be Monday at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Jones said the team camps were a great addition to their usual preseason routine.

The Arkansas Activities Association does not regulate volleyball as strictly as many other sports, which allows the coaching staff to work with the girls throughout the spring and summer. Jones said the team loves it.

“We usually practice two or three days per week, where we do a lot of drills so in August our practices can go smoothly. The girls will already know what to do and I can just say the word and they’ll do it. It’s really just a lot of drilling. The girls love it. We have 27-30 kids every Wednesday and Thursday,” she said.

Jones brought the first 24 girls who signed up to the Tech camp but said she would be taking mostly varsity to the other two team camps this summer.

Bayer was excited to have the Lady Cyclones participating.

“Russellville has two teams here, Red and Black, and it’s good because it’s close. It’s always great fun when it’s the high school and the college here. There’s a chance for a lot of good things,” she said.

Having so many players on campus is also beneficial because it may open the eyes of prospective players to the benefits of enrolling at ATU.

“Anytime you have prospective students on our beautiful campus it’s a winning situation,” she said.

The team camp continues today with a tournament format, which includes both varsity and junior varsity champions as well as all-tournament players and tournament MVPs.

The varsity tournament will be double elimination while the junior varsity will be pool play with a playoff between the top four teams. Plaques will be awarded to the winners.